The American College of Cardiology will host its annual Legislative Conference in Washington from Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2018, bringing together nearly 450 members of the cardiovascular care team to discuss how they are engaging with lawmakers at the local, state and federal level to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health. The conference culminates with attendees going to Capitol Hill to meet with congressional leaders and staff to share the work the cardiovascular community is doing to provide quality, cost-effective and evidence-based care.

This year, attendees will speak with representatives from their home states about how Congress can help foster medical research and innovation through robust funding of the NIH, FDA and CDC and the need to ease administrative burdens that detract from patient care. Attendees are eager to thank representatives for their votes in favor of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which addressed several top cardiovascular priorities including supervision of cardiac rehabilitation by physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists; simplification of the Quality Payment Program; and additional funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The College will also recognize Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., with the 2018 ACC President’s Awards for Distinguished Public Service as recognition for their bipartisan efforts to preserve and expand Medicare accessibility.

This year, scientific abstracts were accepted for the first time at Legislative Conference to highlight the importance of collaboration and advocacy efforts in improving heart disease patient care. The study, “Newborn Critical Congenital Heart Disease Screening using pulse oximetry in the United States: Collaboration and state advocacy working to save infant lives,” will be presented during a poster presentation.

To receive an embargoed copy of the abstract or to speak to the study authors, contact Nicole Napoli at nnapoli@acc.org. The abstract is embargoed until Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018 at 12 p.m. ET.

The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its more than 52,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC bestows credentials upon cardiovascular professionals who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College also provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research through its world-renowned JACC Journals, operates national registries to measure and improve care, and offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions. For more, visit acc.org.